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Conference of the Birds
Conference of the Birds is the second studio album by Om, released in 2006 via Holy Mountain Records. Featuring only two songs and a shorter length compared to the band's debut it has been often perceived as one of if not their best album, with both songs being regular inclusions in the band's live performances for years. The album's name itself references a celebrated literary masterpiece of Persian literature by poet Farid ud-Din Attar, commonly known as Attar of Nishapur. The title, which is in Arabic, is taken directly from the Qur’an, 27:16, where Sulayman (Solomon) and Dāwūd (David) are said to have been taught the language, or speech, of the birds (manṭiq al-ṭayr). Background Following the release of the band's debut album Variations on a Theme, OM began playing a handful of shows in support of the album. By March a new song had worked into the setlist known as "Flight of The Eagle". Eventually on 9 October the trio of Cisneros, Hakius and Billy Anderson went to Prairie Sun Studios in Cotati, California to scope out the space and begin work on their second album. In a studio report provided by Roadburn, Al Cisneros details the entirety of the recording sessions behind Conference of The Birds: The band also notably recorded "Bedouin's Vigil" in the same sessions, later released via Holy Mountain as a split with Six Organs of Admittance and as a Japanese bonus track to the Leaf Hound Records edition of the album. Conference of The Birds would ultimately be released on 24 February with the vinyl edition being released on 17 April. The band followed with a string of appearances at SXSW, Le Lieu Unique in Nantes, France, two-day jaunts in New York and Canada before closing out the year with a performance at Slim's in San Fransisco on 1 December 2006. Reviews surrounding the release of Conference at the time were relatively positive. Pitchfork Media (giving a 7.3/10) praised "At Giza" and it's "corked, opiate energy".Pitchfork Media Scene Point Blank (Giving a 9.3/10) praised the mini-epics as described and stated that they "never expected there to be an album this hypnotic and uplifting at the same time.".Scene Point Blank Dusted Reviews gives a fairly positive outlook on the album and observes the references to Hinduism, Sufi and Egyptian religious motifs.Dusted Magazine Tiny Mix Tapes also gave a 4/5 score with the opening description "Conference of the Birds is a pristine bomb bursting in one evenly paced, fifteen-minute explosion with an equally long aftershock that blazes, razes, and settles in a cloud of ash."Tiny Mix Tapes Retroactively the album has been further praised. In a 2010 review via Head Heritage the album is praised for the mantra-like calm and it's hypnotic nature.Head HeritageAmplifier Wordsmith In a tenth anniversary observation, Doodlehound (Giving a "highest possible recommendation" nod) details the album's sound and closes with the following statements of "Time has only been kinder as it still holds up as a perfect dose of trance-like heaviness with the perfect length." and "No doubt it's my favorite OM album and possibly even one of my favorite albums of all time."/ Doodlehound Tracklist All songs written by Cisneros/Hakius. *1. At Giza (15:55) *2. Flight of The Eagle (17:27) Personnel * Al Cisneros - Bass, Vocals * Chris Hakius - Drums * Billy Anderson - Engineering, Producer * Kevin Lemon - Additional Engineering * Beatrice Friedli - Photography (Cover photography) * Tina Gordon - Photography (Sleeve photography) * Earl Kuck, That's Who - Artwork (Art construction) External Links *Discogs *Friday Full-Length Review via The Obelisk References Category:Release Category:Studio Album Category:Al Cisneros Category:Chris Hakius Category:Om Category:Holy Mountain Records Category:Stoner Metal Category:Cotati Category:California Category:Billy Anderson